Decorating Gingerbread Houses

My kids had so much fun decorating gingerbread houses last year that we just had to do it again this year. For last year’s festivities, Annie Campbell helped us make our own incredible houses from scratch. However, after realizing that none of the kids actually ate their creations because they took such pride in them (and were too busy eating candy along the way), this year we decided to instead buy pre-made kits from Bed Bath & Beyond. For other pre-made options, I like this one from Wilton, this one from Amazon, and Trader Joe’s has a great kit too. And if you are feeling ambitious: Annie’s wonderful do-it-yourself recipe from last year.

I gave away all the candy and characters that came with the sets and the amazingly creative Amy Blessing helped us decorate using our own. For candy, she picked up white chocolate M&M’s, Jelly Belly Champagne Bubbles, Lime Sticklettes, and white Sixlets. For the frosting, she used a Martha Stewart recipe and put it in individual squeeze bottles with nametags attached, which they loved. And of course, for this occasion, each child’s name was printed using the perfect festive font.

Down the center of the table, Amy made a beautiful garland of incense fir and seedy eucalyptus. And for all the little ones, she created sweet floral crowns using the same materials.

It was the perfect afternoon, and to make it that much better, when finished, we all sat down and enjoyed Pamela’s delicious Veggie Lasagna and my favorite Kale Salad from Valleybrink Road. XXJKE